I still haven't seen it since I just got up, but I did see an article describe the UI as more 360 like before I went to bed. So I'm assuming it's something like the 360 dashboard or the updated playstation store interface we got a while back? Because the only thing I have to say if that's the case is that both of those are some of the worst interfaces I've ever seen.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loony BoB
Like you, I liked the XMB. It was simple, clean, fast, and optimized well for use with a controller. It was actually one of the few things about the PS3 that I'd say Sony pretty much nailed down perfectly. That they're now going to go and rip off interfaces that look and feel like they were designed by blind monkey's who've never held a controller is disconcerting.
EDIT: So I've read up on the gist of the announcements a bit more and here are my general thoughts. I haven't seen any actual footage beyond a bit of the video of Destiny, but let's be honest here, I think we've all seen enough console launches to know what to expect from game videos showing off more powerful hardware. I'll watch them later, but I doubt I'm missing much that relevant to discussing the console itself. Anywhere, here we go:
-Like I said before, social features don't interest me and this was no exception so I'll skip over that.
- Playstation Eye is standard from the sounds of things and works with the regular Dual Shock now? Not seeing much there for me unless I'm missing something. I've used every variant of motion controls out there right now and the conclusion I've reached is they do nothing for me. They have absolutely no value to the sorts of games I want to play and are at best a cumbersome pain in my ass when they're used. Good on them for at least shoving them in the box at launch for those that want them, but I really doubt that motion controls are suddenly going to show their worth to me 7 ears after the Wii came out and everyone else jumped on that bandwagon.
- I'm really not seeing the value in this touchpad on the controller. I'll wait and see what it gets used for I suppose, but I'm not expecting much. The only thing I can figure is it's there for some sort of cross platform play with Vita titles since it has the touchscreen and pad. If you could play Vita titles on the PS4 that would actually be pretty cool.
- The prospect of streaming PSX, PS2, and PS3 titles for backwards compatibility is interesting. People with troutty connections are boned though. And we'll have to see what the price structure is. I'd rather it be subscription based than paying for specific titles to be honest. I have absolutely no desire to "buy" titles that I don't own and may not be able to access if the service or Sony ever go belly up. But a monthly fee for access to the back catalogue for those three consoles? That's something I might be able to get behind.
- The downloading while you play/downloading before you buy is interesting if it all works, but certainly not a bunch of added value to me. I have a fast internet connection and never had a problem with just letting something download for a few minutes. It's convenient don't get me wrong, but since it has no impact on the actual games it's only mildly interesting to me.
And now for the real bread and butter:
- The fairly standard PC hardware interests me because we won't see consoles holding back PC titles for a while, and it will mean easier porting. Both of these interest me since I really don't have much desire to pay a few hundred dollars to jump into a closed gaming system that a big company controls with an iron fist again. I love the openness of PC gaming, the tweakability that comes with it, and that no one can really come along and tell me how to enjoy my gaming rig.
Now, don't get me wrong, that stuff is good for Sony too. Proprietary hardware that was difficult to develop for almost cost them the current console generation completely, and certainly did cost them a huge lead they had going in. But I'm not seeing anything that's making me want to jump in with both feet again what with some of the stupidity these console manufacturers are prone to. At best what I'm willing to say right now is that I will wait and see how things shake out a couple of years post launch. In the mean time, my socks are still firmly in place.
But perhaps that's a little unfair. At this point I'm not sure a console or it's features could really wow me anymore. I care about what games can do with the hardware, not what the hardware is or what it does outside of gaming. So about the only take away from this for me is: new consoles are coming and they're a lot more powerful so expect bigger, prettier games, with better AI and such.
